I said it above but I’ll mention it again: if you’re so busy that you can’t volunteer, hire a teenager and pay him $20 an hour to cover your shift. He can time, pick up concessions, sell concession items, etc. you can work during the meet - or watch - and everyone is satisfied. If you’re a pool member, you can afford this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Oh, and before some smart ass responds with "your privilege is showing" or something to that effect, it's quite cheap to pay a HS or college kid to take care of running your kid to practice a few days per week. That, or share a carpool with another working parent. Super cheap and easy.

PP just sounds like a slacker looking for excuses.

You are demonstrating how exclusive summer swim is with the daytime practices and volunteering. If you are fortunate enough to work for home hiring help might work, but it's an added expense and strategizing.

Maybe. My kid wants to horseback ride and we can’t afford it so - get this - we don’t sign them up for it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Oh, and before some smart ass responds with "your privilege is showing" or something to that effect, it's quite cheap to pay a HS or college kid to take care of running your kid to practice a few days per week. That, or share a carpool with another working parent. Super cheap and easy.

PP just sounds like a slacker looking for excuses.

You are demonstrating how exclusive summer swim is with the daytime practices and volunteering. If you are fortunate enough to work for home hiring help might work, but it's an added expense and strategizing.

There are afternoon practices for those that can’t come during the day. Let’s be real…it’s a summer swim team associated with a private pool club. If you belong to that pool, you’re already part of an exclusive club and are privileged.

If you can’t volunteer, don’t do the team. Period.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Oh, and before some smart ass responds with "your privilege is showing" or something to that effect, it's quite cheap to pay a HS or college kid to take care of running your kid to practice a few days per week. That, or share a carpool with another working parent. Super cheap and easy.

PP just sounds like a slacker looking for excuses.

You are demonstrating how exclusive summer swim is with the daytime practices and volunteering. If you are fortunate enough to work for home hiring help might work, but it's an added expense and strategizing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Oh, and before some smart ass responds with "your privilege is showing" or something to that effect, it's quite cheap to pay a HS or college kid to take care of running your kid to practice a few days per week. That, or share a carpool with another working parent. Super cheap and easy.

PP just sounds like a slacker looking for excuses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

Not really. Meets are in evenings and weekends, just like all other sports. Those are when the volunteer hours are needed. Or, as another parent pointed out, there are plenty of other volunteer jobs that a parent can do "behind the scenes" on their own time, whenever they can fit it in. All you have to do is email your team's volunteer coordinator.

Yes, there are more SAHM and PT moms at practices, and I also see grandparents and nannies taking care of drop-off/pick-up for practices for FT working moms/dads. Again, that has nothing to do with volunteer hours.

Ours has late afternoon practice. Most parents work. This is not a WOH/SAH issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

Geez. You work like every other parent?

<shrug>. Our team is 90% SAHM or PT families. I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I’m calling BS on this. This isn’t the 1950s.

Many of ours are teachers. They work, just not in the summer. Most other sports have evening practice, poster makes a good point.

I haven't read this whole thread, but as an A rep (for a few years, and I also work full-time) I'd like to chime in, with the caveat that we have a large team (~200 swimmers).

Totally fine if you can't volunteer at a meet! There are so many "behind the scenes" jobs you can do:

Plan dine-outs as fundraisers- you never have to leave your desk.

Coordinate the team photo- can do it all from home until the day of the actual photo.

Take charge of ordering the trophies for your team, again all from home except for picking them up and bringing them to the team banquet.

Be on the banquet committee to plan.

Take charge of apparel or getting end-of-season coach gifts.

And trust me, there are more.

In my eyes, these would exempt you from volunteering at meets. Please, just ask your reps what you can do, I promise you they need help and there is a role to fit everyone's schedule and personality. I understand that not all this is necessarily needed, but the goal is to make it fun for the kids and create great memories.

Please, reach out to your reps and ask what you can do to help, your kids and the other parents will appreciate it so much!!

Anonymous wrote:I show up to meets but am in the back on my laptop catching up on work. Sorry. That’s the price I pay because the hours of practice are during normal working hours.

So jump on your laptop during practice, like many other parents. Then you can volunteer at meets!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Or maybe kids parents work 60 -80 hour weeks. That should not preclude a child from being on team. That is just nasty. Volunteering should not just be tit for tat. It should be about giving of yourself because my goodness you are blessed with something to give.

I worked 70+ hours a week with a husband who was gone 3 weeks a month. I volunteered fully, including timing when I had a 3 year old in tow.

I volunteer with two other organizations.
Sorry, not sorry - won’t be volunteering at swimming.

This response is absurd. What does volunteering for 2 other organizations have anything to do with swim team volunteer obligations? You can feel free to just tell your kid that you don’t have room in the schedule for swim team obligations and not sign them up. It’s not other parents’ responsibility to subsidize your volunteer priorities. Are we supposed to just bow down and pick up your slack because you have deemed other volunteer obligations to be more important? Get over yourself.

You can cut back on the two other organizations to be able to volunteer twice a month for a few hours at swim meets. And, too bad you have a 3 year old in tow. That part of being a parent. If you work 70+ hours a week plus volunteer you either have a lot of hired help for that 3 year old or you are lying.

I’m the one who worked long hours and was timing at meets with my three year old. I’m NOT the one saying I didn’t volunteer bc I volunteered at other activities for my kids. My point was - lots of people work long hours but if you sign your kid up, you do it. Oh, and I didn’t have help. Zero. I had my own company and the kids came in with me everyday. I worked very long hours at work and home and somehow made it work. I never made excuses that I didn’t pitch in when asked or needed. This other poster is pathetic.

Sorry. Agree. No excuse for not volunteering 2-3 meets. Or switch off with another parent for child care.

Anonymous wrote:I still don't think a case has been made for needing so many volunteers

That’s how many people you need to run a meet. You need at least 18 timers for one thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm guessing the "competitive pool" poster is from a NVSL Division 1 pool, where they recruit swimmers and it is INTENSE.

Only Tuckahoe and Chesterbrook.

It’s off topic but I can’t let this slide. Overlee invented NVSL recruiting, and I imagine any number of upper division teams who don’t have geographic membership boundaries do it as well.

Swimmers for Overlee have to get through the regular, years long waitlist to swim for the team. There isn’t a special number to call to bypass the waitlist, team members “visiting from Maryland for the summer”, special swim team memberships, etc.

Nope, there’s a buried exception in their membership rules. Overlee does, however, have far better sportsmanship practices.

I would love to see that exception.